Unexpected Gifts
by Sanji Himura
Summary: Misato wanted to thank Shinji for being there to help her through her pain. When Misato does something, she does it big. Eventual ShinjiHarem. EPILOGUE IS NOW ONLINE! [COMPLETE]
1. Chapter 1

Author's ramblings:

- This was designed to be fic 8 of the _Traces_ series, but as I was writing it, it took a life of its own and this is chapter 1 of the result.

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**Sanji Himura presents**

**An Evangelion fan work**

**Unexpected Gifts**

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**Chapter 1: _Depression and a New Father_**

"If you are hearing this message," a recorder was blaring the bad news to the person who pressed the black button on the machine. This person knew who it was, Kaji, the unkept, laid back man who wooed her and left her only to return ten years later only to suffer this fate. She knew what this meant, her lover was dead.

The message continued as she bursted into tears, banging her hand on the table, speaking incoherent sentences.

That was the scene that a 14 year old boy saw when he entered the room to prepare dinner. Dropping the bags, he walked over to her and rubbed her back, hitting all of the pressure points to help relieve her stress. Sensing the ministrations, she turned around and saw his face, the face that always gave her hope, the face that she wished that she saw every morning, the face that held the comfort that she was seeking at this very moment.

Shinji Ikari

Giving away more tears, she hugged him like an anchor keeping still a ship in a raging storm. Continuing to rub her back, he continued to help her calm down, giving her the peace that she justly deserved. Parting, she straightened up his shirt, and dried up her remaining tears.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"For what Misato," Shinji replied with some enthusiasm.

"For just being here. You know, if you didn't entered when you did, I would have shot myself."

"You don't mean that," Shinji replied with shock in his voice.

"I do, and for what you just did, I'm going to give you a present. I'm off to NERV so that I can get it for you. Stay here."

When she left, Shinji went into a panic. He knew that his birthday was some time away, nine months away, and Christmas was four months away.

He continued the thought for sometime until she returned with a smile on her face. Patting her stomach in a unorthodox manner, she bolted for her room. Figuring that it was nothing, however, it didn't hurt to check with Dr. Akagi. He picked up the phone when the door bell was heard.

Opening the door, ironically it was Dr. Akagi. "Shinji, is Misato in," she asked.

"Yeah. She is in her room," he replied. Doing the unasked request, he retrieved Misato and escorted her to the living area.

"So Misato, how does it feel being pregnant," Dr. Akagi asked as Misato entered the room. Knowing that he was missing a few pages out of the book, Shinji remained quiet.

"You aren't one to ask, especially that you got me pregnant with his child," she told her.

"True, however, due to my pregnancy, I guess we will both learn together."

"Excuse me," Shinji interrupted, "What is going on?"

"Shinji," Dr. Akagi responded. "Do you know the samples that we took from you?"

How could he not forget, he gave every possible sample that one can give, blood, hair, skin, salvia, sperm. He stopped. He knew from health class about reproduction, and his face turned white.

Misato noticed this, became blunt saying, "there was a project that was to produce even stronger pilots for the Evas. By collecting sperm, from you, and egg samples from Asuka, the MAGI have determined that a stronger pilot would not have resulted in putting the two together."

Dr. Akagi continued, "Misato came to me with the unusual request to make her pregnant with your child, Shinji. On a hunch, I processed her egg sample with the same test, and it would have made a stronger pilot."

Shinji understood, but asked, "Why did you get pregnant, Dr. Akagi?"

Dr. Akagi answered, "Your father doesn't love me. I found out that he slept with my mother. You know how much I hated my mother, and after finding out about this, I wanted to give him a slap in his face for doing what he did. When Misato came to me, well, I knew I had my chance to get him back."

"So you used some of my left over sperm and got yourself pregnant," Shinji finished for her. Dr. Akagi nodded in the affirmative.

Shinji took this as well as any new father would. He fainted.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: _Round 2: Maya Ibuki_**

Lt. Maya Ibuki is not on very good terms with men. A woman of 19 years of age, she never even had one stable relationship. That doesn't mean that she isn't attractive. Very basic in appearence, she is one of the kind of people who lets their natural beauty shine through.

It is those kind of qualities that attracted Shinji to her. After what happened yesterday, it is no small leap that Shinji didn't trust any women that he knew right now.

One sperm sample produced two children by two different women, he didn't know how many more got the sample. He also hated the fact that he was ordered to give another sample. The excuse Dr. Akagi gave Gendo when application for additional samples came to his desk was, 'initial sample contamination.' Gendo didn't know any better, due to the fact that she covered her tracks of the sample's real use. She sent an e-mail to the personal accounts of women who want to become pregnant. The e-mail reached Maya's box.

Maya saw the email and instantly smiled. Ever since she met Shinji, she was instantly attracted to him enough to pursue a stable relationship with him. Now that she had her means, by God, she was going to capitalize on it. Taking her lunch break, she instantly reported to the one woman that could make this happen, Dr. Ritsuko Akagi.

"Hello, Maya, is there something you need," Dr. Akagi asked her as she entered the room. Not taking the time to take in the appearance of the basic "doctor's office" room, she sat down on one of the seats near her.

"Cut the crap, Sempai. I know about the e-mail you sent me this morning," she spat out angrily. She knew that she had to keep this up or else she wouldn't get placed on the fast list to get Shinji's child.

Dr. Akagi sighed. "Yeah, we are starting up that stronger pilot project again. I figured it was time that I started processing other samples with Shinji's DNA. So far, I processed 30 samples from potential candidates, and strangely enough all of them came back weak. It seems that only ones that care even remotely care about Shinji do make better pilots."

Maya took a moment to sink it all in. If it was the case, then she would have a better chance of getting pregnant than ever before, however she had to ask, "How many more do you have to test?"

"Since Shinji's Section 2 guards are male, I can safely dispose of the rest of the samples. So if you are ready to begin the test, lie down on the couch there."

The process began by collecting two eggs from the subject, in this case, Maya. After that, she was dismissed, and the DNA of one of the eggs was processed. Running the DNA through a program in the MAGI, they determined that they would make a stronger pilot, in this case it was a 2-1 split with Casper casting the no vote. Going back to the sample room, she extracted the sperm sample that she recently acquired from Shinji just hours before Maya stormed through the door of her office. The test didn't take long, about thirty minutes.

Calling Maya to her office, they begin the procedure to get her pregnant. When it was all over a hour later, let's just say that Misato and Dr. Akagi's baby will have gained a little brother and sister, and since Shinji wasn't due to NERV for another round of testing until the day after tomorrow, this gives plenty of time for all parties involved to think about what they were going to tell him.

Gendo Ikari had other plans. Calling him into NERV for a small meeting, Shinji came rather quietly, not knowing what was going on. "I'm here," he said.

Gendo not moving replied, "Tell me, what do you know about the real purpose of the sperm sample that we acquired from you?"

Taking a seat that was near him, Shinji replied, "I know that you are using the sample to develop stronger Eva pilots."

Not making Gendo's shock visible, he continued, "Yes, that is true. Are you aware that the project has started up again?"

"Yes. Misato and one other have become pregnant with my child, and I don't know how many others may have become pregnant."

Gendo took a while to digest the information. He knew that Dr. Akagi had sent the e-mail advertising for all women to be tested for the project, and that she processed Misato's egg sample through the MAGI, and recently Maya Ibuki's. He also knew that she impregnated herself after finding out about his sleeping with her mother, and that she won't come back to him when he wanted some. The whole damn project has put the scenario at great risk, but the aspect of being a grandfather made him think about killing the old men and dismantling SEELE. He had the means to do it, and he needed more time to think about it. "That is all, dismissed."

Shinji left the room just as quietly as he came. He too had the aspect of fatherhood to think about. He always wanted Misato and Dr. Akagi to become mothers, and the thought that they were his children scared him. However, unlike his father, he would be there for his children, no matter how many more he might have.

Dr. Akagi and Maya was walking to the commander's office. Today was the weekly report about the Evas, and for some strange reason, he wanted for them to give it today. They saw the reason walking right for them. He really wanted them to tell him about the new addition to their small growing family.

"Shinji, we need to talk," Ritsuko said, stopping everybody. Looking around the area for an empty room, she escorted everyone into a small office. "Shinji, you remember what I told you, right?"

Shinji nodded in both understanding and in fear. "Well, I'm pregnant, Shinji," Maya blurted out.

Shinji did what Shinji did best recently, he fainted again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:_ The Legend of Hikari Horaki Pt. 1_**

The class representative for Shinji's class is a very shy girl. She doesn't have the huge breasts that the guys in her class want, nor does she have the curves that even the best guys that treat their girls right want. The only guy that would even talk to her recently is one Shinji Ikari, and in the past couple of days, he found out that he fathered three kids by three different, and older, women, and he could have fathered even more. Assurances from Dr. Ritsuko Akagi said that there was only three, so far.

It has been about a month since the incident, and every body that got pregnant insisted that everyone call them as if Shinji had married them. It had gotten so bad that Shinji dodged his normal testing the week before. Gendo in his normal "didn't give a rat's ass about anything" mood, so he ordered Section 2 to drag him back to NERV for the tests.

It was worse at school. All of the guys gave him death threats in his mail box, and the girls got dreamy when they saw him, as if he was some sort of love god that got people pregnant at the simple touch of the hand.

Except his roommate, Asuka Langley Soryu, and her best friend, Hikari Horaki. A few weeks into Misato's unannounced pregnancy, they noticed her budge and her refusal to drink beer. They even saw her pour her remaining beer down the drain. When confronted about it, Misato said, "I have someone else to take care of now." They put two and two together, and Asuka promptly left to rip Shinji two new holes.

Hikari, on the other hand, thought about the choice that she thought was recently given. All along during her relationship with Touji, she always wanted to be a mother, and she thought that he would be father material. Since the activation test, he drove her away, not wanting anyone to see him with an arm and leg cut off. Ever since, she always drifted from day to day, her mind rotting away from the inside out, until Shinji entered her life.

After that, they had lunch together once a week, and their talks have evolved to friendship. Today, she wanted to take the next step. The bell signaling lunch has just rung, and the two of them left for the roof. Allowing her entry first, Shinji led her over to the bench where they sat.

"Shinji," Hikari started, "What would happen if we did "it" and I became pregnant with your child? Would I become a good mother?"

Shinji always feared those two questions. He always had a strong urge to run away from whoever said them, but he answered, "Hikari, you would be a very good mother."

"Shinji, I want to come over to your house and talk to Misato for a while, so can you keep Asuka busy for a while?"

"I'm sure that Ritsuko can keep her busy for a while, I'll give her a call so that she can schedual another round of testing for her."

"Thanks Shinji," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek, "I promise you won't regret it." She trotted off to class as the bell rung, leaving Shinji on the roof.

'Why do I feel that I'm starting to regret it already?'

The rest of the school day flew rather quickly, and after waiting by the front gate of the school, calling Dr. Akagi, he escorted Asuka to NERV for hours of testing with the promise of a big dinner waiting for them when they got home.

Hikari intentionally assign herself for clean up duty so that she can put some padding in the distance Asuka was from her house, so that she can get there unnoticed. The fifteen minute walk was uneventful, and was at the front door in record time.

A knock on the door later, the door opened to a drowsy Misato wearing very little nightclothes. Letting herself in, Hikari went straight to the point by saying, "Misato, how did you get pregnant?"

Getting her bearings together, she responded, "Hikari, if I answer this question truthfully, what are you going to do?"

"I was thinking about becoming a mother."

Misato was shocked. Here was a 14 year old daughter of a man that she didn't even know wanting to be a mother to some other boy's child. She should end the conversation right here and now, however her playful mood has come out to play and her logic be damned. Besides, she was drowsy so she can't think straight.

Shaking out of her internal monologue, she had to ask, "who would be the father if I tell you?"

Only one name escaped Hikari's lips, "Shinji."

'Another potential canidiate,' Misato thought. Resisting the urge to put her under Dr. Akagi's knife and get her pregnant, she told her the whole story.

"It started when Kaji was killed. I was crying after hearing the message that he left on the recorder, and giving the table a stress test. Shinji was just coming in from shopping, and heard my crying because he walked over and started to rub my shoulders to calm me down. I turned to face him, and he gave me one of the warmest smiles that I thought that any pig headed man could never give. I cried some more on his shoulder as he continued to rub my back. I eventually calmed down enough to put the shock of the message behind me, and it was then that I realized that the bastard was never there other than sex, and Shinji was there for me, wanting nothing in return. I told him to wait here at the apartment while I got his present."

Hikari interrupted, "did he stay there the whole time?"

"Like a true man, yes. I went to NERV to ask Dr. Akagi to impregnate me with his child. She was upset that his father abused her again, but she too thought that Shinji was a real man, after I talked to her to catch up. So after talking about it, we both decided to undergo an experimental procedure that will reduce the amount of pain and time it takes for someone to get pregnant by artificial assimilation. A few days later, one of Ritsuko's subordinates got the procedure. I'll admit that any of us haven't told him what we were going to do, but if you are serious about this, you better tell him before you do anything."

Thanking Misato, she took off for home thinking about what Misato said.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:_ Becoming Lillith Pt. 1_**

In the room where Rei was born, not a sound outside of the normal operations was heard, not a light was blinking out of place...

Until now. The motions that was started not too long ago finally reached its peak. The whole operation was simple really, simply clone a body for some one who lacked any sort of human body, and transfer their soul into it. It was done to Rei once, and they were ready to do it again if need be, however the genetic material for the body that they were going to use was being re-written to suit one person's needs...

Lillith, the second angel. After her lower half being around Shinji as Eva unit 01, her upper half felt the need to reincarnate as a human to meet him. The human/angel hybrid body allowed her to bear any children that he wanted, and her abilities would still be intact. Now all was needed was a soul.

Lillith wasn't stupid. She had the forethought to back up her soul into Rei I when she was created, and now she had taken control of her to finish the process.

Rei's recent memory backup process was really to filter out Rei's memories and retrieve Lillith's soul, and now she was ready to finish what she was started.

A press of a button from Rei, and the woman in the tank started to spasm. The woman was even more of a bombshell than Misato, her blond hair is down to the middle of her back, her breasts was not too big, just right for her six foot frame, and she didn't have one ounce of excess fat anywhere on her body. Some would eventually say that she was Venus incarnate, ready to show people the true meaning of love. It was a shame that Shinji would have her all to himself.

One hour later, the bad part was over. Rei had long since left, leaving her card, and some clothes that would fit her, behind. Looking around, she busted herself out of the glass tube. Getting some deep breaths into her lungs, Lillith finally settled down enough to get dressed and started on her mission, make Shinji hers.

A shiver ran down Shinji's spine. Ever since Misato told him that Hikari wanted to bear his child, he could never shake the feeling that someone was watching him. He has become jumpy to the point where every time someone mentions fatherhood, he hides off to the corner.

Who knew the reputation of getting women pregnant by simply touching them has that kind of effect on him.

A knock on the door soothed his nerves some as he answered the door, thinking it was one of his friends. It opened to a blond bombshell woman. He collapsed.

"Shinji, dear," the woman gasped as she caught him, careful not to use an AT field. Misato and Asuka ran to the door when they heard the voice.

Not one to beat around the bush, Asuka demanded, "Who in the hell are you, and what are you doing to Baka-Shinji?"

The woman, thinking about it, answered, "I'm Lilly Himura, and I was sent here to take care of my future husband, Shinji Ikari."

Gasps of disbelief came out of Misato and Asuka's mouths before Misato yelled, "future husband? We know Shinji inside and out, and he would have told us if he had a girlfriend. Besides, I'm pregnant with his child-"

"Via artificial assimilation. It isn't natural, and besides, I could tell because Shinji, here is still a virgin."

It became clear to Misato just how much she knew about the situation. If she knew the procedure used, she might know how many women became pregnant this way.

"I guess you can stay in the apartment next door," Misato said, drawing Asuka's anger in the process.

"Next door," Asuka demanded, "Why there, why not make her stay in Wondergirl's apartment?"

"Because, Asuka, that apartment is under the direct control of NERV, and if someone showed up living there, they would draw suspicion. Besides all that, it would be futile because she would find her way to this building, and by extension, Shinji's bed side."

"That's right, little girl," Lilly said, taunting Asuka with a wink.

Keeping her anger in check, Asuka left the apartment, making her way to Hikari's to try to talk her out of bearing the baka's child again.

Misato handed Lilly a soda from her port-a-fridge, and said, "She is so easy to tease."

Lilly opened her drink, agreed with her saying, "Yeah. I'll admit that she would do Shinji good if only she would drop her damn attitude."

The two women laughed as Lilly dropped Shinji, giving him a mild concussion that would last for several days.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:_ The Legend of Hikari Horaki Pt. 2_**

"What do you mean 'he's nice', Hikari," A woman asked Hikari. Hikari is not one to associate with one of the so-called "three stooges" according to Asuka. However, after showing kindness after the angel attack that cost Toji his arm and leg and eventually pushing her away, she thought that Shinji would make a good father to his children, and as such, has constantly talked it over with who ever would listen.

Asuka had just shown up after she had just talked with her father, who had arrived only a few hours before. Overall he was supportive of the idea, however he thought he was too young, and wanted to meet the young man before things went beyond the point of no return. She had agreed to bring him over the next day.

"Asuka, you know that all you do is slap him around every time that he acts like a normal teenager," Hikari responded, becoming blunt of the situation.

"You know that he does perverted things, what do you expect me to do, be nice around him, get him to open up more?"

"That is exactly what you should do, Asuka. I know that he lives in fear each day because he never knows when you might go over the edge and actually try to kill him. I also know that he likes you, but your refusal to come out of your shell has driven him to the point that he sought care in me, and I enjoyed giving it to him. I care for him to the point that I think that I love him, but he won't return it because of the fear that you have driven into him about women. Sometimes I wonder if that fear has been a cause of his reaction to the situation that he is in."

"No, I won't do it, Hikari. You should know that he is nothing but a pervert that should be treated like a servant."

Hikari cut her off before she said anything else, "leave, Asuka. You have just made my decision for me. I am going to have his baby, and your opinion won't mean a thing to me. I tried to play nice and ask you about it, but your bullshit of an ego won't allow you to give me an honest opinion. Shinji is more of a man than Kaji who deserves something to live for, and by god, I'm going to give it to him."

Asuka was hurt, and she showed it this time. By the time that she reached the front door, she was in tears. As her hand reached the knob, she whispered, "I know that. It is just that I wished he were mine. You are a good girl for him, Hikari. Take care of him."

Hikari instantly regretted what she said. She intercepted her before she left, and drew her into a hug. They stayed that way for several minutes.

Hikari eventually asked her to stay over for the night as she calmed down.

Shinji did not have a very good night so far. The bombshell known as Lilly Himura was laying down on his left and Misato on his right. The fact that they were in Misato's room on Misato's bed didn't even need to be given a thought. Those facts alone was enough to scare him beyond belief. No they were not intimate, however they insisted on seeing Shinji naked for some odd reason. However, Shinji managed to sleep the night away in his boxers, giving both women plenty of bare skin body heat.

The next day at school, neither of them did want their lunch period, but as the bell rang, the two of them went up to the roof as usual.

"Shinji," Hikari started, "How would you feel if we raise a child together?" There, she said it.

"Hikari," he thought about it, musing over the thought. Hell, he already has three kids on the way, one more, aside from Hikari, who wants to be pregnant. He felt that a request for a bigger apartment, or a house, was in order since he thought that the children deserved a father, and he didn't want them to grow up without him. He also considered the choice because he didn't get any yet, much to the humor of Asuka who was a few feet away.

Hikari also thought about a few things. Getting pregnant with his child meant that she had to resign as class representative and not show her face at school all together. Thankfully, the school offered correspondence courses so she didn't worry much about finishing her education.

This also brings up the question of finances. Sure they were well covered, with Shinji's money from NERV, and if the mothers move in together, but she didn't know one thing about starting a household, but she didn't mind learning together.

"I know that you have honest intentions, Hikari," Shinji brought her back from her thoughts, "and I thought about it too, and If you are serious about this, then I want to be the father to your children, that is if you would let me."

Shinji didn't even had a chance to regret his decision as she hugged him. He didn't want to. God was in his heaven, and all was right in Shinji's world, all except a pair of red and blue eyes watching the pair plotting something.

Statistics:

This is something new that I'm trying.

Stats taken at 8:15 AM (central) on October 10, 2006.

Total hits: 5317

Total reviews: 39

Total content word count (this is omitting chapter titles, author ramblings and this section): 4534

Average hits a chapter: 1329.25

Average reviews a chapter: 9.75

Nervous breakdown rating while I wrote what I wrote so far: 4 out of 5.


	6. Interlude 1

**Interlude 1: _The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men usually go to Hell in a Handbasket_**

"This is not in the scenario, Ikari," a man's voice is heard. This meeting of SEELE was to determine if their plan for the Human Instrumentality Project was in jeopardy. The whole thing can be summed up like this; they fucking want to kill off the human race. However due to the evidence that Gendo has "allowed" to slip to Misato's dead boyfriend, the whole thing was collapsing around them, and they knew it. The whole string of pregnancies with Shinji has further dampened their plans.

Also the 17th did not come as the scrolls predicted. If they wanted to become gods, then they had to force him to come.

In reality, God was putting a stop to the plan. Letting Kaji live as long as he did was step one, step two was staying the hand of Tiberis, who didn't even want to be one of them, from casting judgment. In the end, it would have been Shinji who would be crucified like his own son just so that SEELE's plans would work, and he didn't want anyone to suffer that. Finally, Shinji's future resignation from NERV would be the straw that breaks the camel's back, so he gave him something to live for.

The monoliths were beyond pissed. "I assure you the scenario is going according to plan, the pregnancies will not change, if anything they would assure that the Third would be kept in line," Gendo responded.

The man that held the monolith of 01 finally spoke up; "All that is needed is the Third Child on that cross. Even if he quits playing by our rules, we can always hunt him down and force him on it. Then we can eliminate all traces of his bloodline from the face of the earth, that is assuming that he fails to start Third Impact."

Monolith 02 spoke up, "sir, what of the Eva? We need it."

"No, we don't. 'The one true king will rise to the dying world,' I believe that the Third's death will set in motion all that we have set about doing."

Seeing that everything that has been said will be said, Gendo left the meeting. All the remaining monoliths agreed that now was the time to unleash the mass produced Evas and attack NERV.

Statistics:

Stats taken at 12:45 PM (central) on Wednesday, October 11, 2006.

Total Hits: 7243

Total Reviews: 48

Average Hits/Chapter: 1448.6

Average Reviews/Chapter: 9.6

Total Content Word Count: 4915

Author's ramblings:

- Wow! I don't know what has gotten into me. Humor has taken a back seat to the plot. However, I am using this chance for character development as well as to show that I do have a heart for poor Shinji.

- Let's see here. I have gotten a few reviews that asked that this story be a crossover and add a few good women to mother Shinji's children. I'm sorry to disappoint, but this will not be a crossover. He has enough on his hands when I finish off this story.

- One more thing, I now have a forum up for this story. Look it up on my profile. One thing to note, I will not be giving spoilers for my story, so do not go there thinking that I am.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: _First Strike_**

"In other breaking news, with fears of angel attacks lessening," a news reporter was talking through a TV with a packed crowd. What was unusual about this was that this was Tokyo-3, the fortress city. This place should have been abandoned.

In the seven weeks that have passed, the UN had declared that there was not going to be any angels, and so they put NERV on operational standby.

Aside from the sudden maternity leave that the mothers got, Shinji was affected the most because they had to wait on them hand and foot, but it was a relief seeing as Asuka and Hikari helped out as well.

Shinji was standing in front of the TV, on the way to fulfill one of Misato's odd cravings.

"NERV will now be placed on standby as the UN conducts an investigation on German businessman, Lorentz Keel on suspicion of attempted genocide," the voice continued.

"Keel has been rumored to have led the cult known as SEELE, who say that the 'Dead Sea Scrolls' are a key to man's final evolution, and actively tried to bring about Third Impact. This was from the disk that was taken from former NERV commander Gendo Ikari when he was arrested three weeks ago on unrelated charges."

Shinji remembers that day well. His father was hitting on the new assistant to Dr. Akagi who took this as an after school job. The girl was about Maya's age when he entered NERV. She was going to be married soon, and so it came as no surprise as she refused his advances, and got a beating in return. A well-placed chop ended his night, his career for that matter, as he woke up the next morning in a jail cell for attempted rape.

With the sub-commander's resignation, command fell to Misato, but she quit too, citing personal reasons. Shinji knew why she really quit. She didn't want to be involved in something that had Kaji killed, but she just hugged him and told him that she loved him and she would always be there for him.

Three days later, Shinji was known as Commander Shinji Ikari, Supreme Commander of NERV. The title scared him, as the weight of the whole world fell onto his shoulders, but he got use to it to the point that his hand hurts from signing too many papers, and his head from "thinking too much," as Asuka puts it.

'Asuka has really changed since she came back from Hikari's place two months ago,' Shinji thought. Over the last few weeks, she really has opened up to him. They would take some time during the day and take a walk through the park with some ice cream and eat that as they got to know the real each other. On few occasions, even Hikari joined them.

It then dawned on Shinji; all of this down time was getting on his nerves.

"With that arrest," the voice continued, "was when authorities discovered how deep SEELE's influence really was."

"To date, seventeen heads of state, 236 U. S. Representatives, 25 U.S. Senators, 3 U.S. Surpreme Court Justices, the current U.N. Secretary General and the security council has been arrested on these charges."

Shinji smiled. He had a hand in most of these arrests, in part to Misato's decision to remain loyal to Kaji's memory and delivered Gendo to the police. It was Shinji's call to plant the evidence on Third Impact on Gendo.

"No need to walk down memory lane," Shinji muttered to himself as he turned for home.

Being Commander of NERV has had its share of perks as well. His first order of business was to get all of the women who got pregnant to move into a big house that could house all of them, as well as any future additions that they might want. The settled on a house that was next to an entrance to NERV. This kept Dr. Akagi happy, seeing as it was a direct entrance to her lab so she wouldn't have to walk that far.

Dr. Akagi. She was the only woman in the world that thought that Shinji could do anything he wanted to her and still thought he could do no wrong. "Hurt by the father, healed by the son," is what she says in her sleep on the nights they share together.

In an attempt to get to know the real mothers, Shinji decided to allow one of the women to sleep in his bed a night. This move kept them happy seeing as they wanted to know him too, and eventually fall in love with him too, much to Lilly's disappointment.

Lilly Himura. On the nights that they share together, she always encouraged him to get her pregnant, she even sleeps in the nude. She always hugs him close to her as she slept, and he sleeps off the next day from not falling asleep in her embrace. It was as if his sub-conscious was thinking that she was not as she seems.

Misato Katsuragi. On the nights that they spent together, she never pulls him into her embrace, no, instead he pulls her into his. She hated her father, just like he hated his. It was as if he planned his mother's death, and he didn't give a damn. He found a kindred spirit in both Misato and Asuka, and he decided that he never wanted to let go. On few nights, he even made out with her, much to the teasing of Kensuke, and the other women of the harem that he had.

Maya Ibuki. On the nights that they spent together, they got to know each other through pillow talk. The other women thought that if he had to marry someone from this, it would be her. The most reserved from the bunch, she easily would not talk to anyone if she was not talked to, and would not express to anyone what she really thought about the other harem mates. Still, they made out at Shinji's insistence, and even that lasted a few moments before Maya fell asleep due to the medication that she took.

Reaching the gate of the house, Shinji heard a sound that he never thought he would hear again…

…It was an angel alarm.

Statistics:

Stats taken at 10:10 AM on Tuesday, October 24, 2006.

Total Hits: 10133

Total Reviews: 54

Average hits/Chapter: 1688.84

Average reviews/Chapter: 9

Total Content Word Count: 5963

Author's ramblings:

Commentary for all of the chapters written so far is now up on the story's message board. The message board's link is in my profile.

This will be my last chapter for a while. My mac is down for the moment, and I'll have to get a new one. If I can get a loner then I'll update sooner. THIS STORY IS NOT FINISHED.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: _Betrayal_**

"What is the situation out there," Shinji asked, resuming the position that his father took a month before his arrest.

"Sir, the MAGI have detected five AT fields in the outskirts of Tokyo-2 and are heading this way," a bridge tech answered him, not wanting to answer the next question.

"AT pattern," it came.

"Blue, sir. However, the MAGI have also detected a orange AT field inside the blue field, as if they were piloting Evas."

"Go to second stage alert. Summon the rest of the pilots and get the Evas ready for emergency launch."

The tech knew what this meant. The Commander has to pilot again; putting him in the perfect position that SEELE would have wanted him in.

"The AT fields in visual range," Another tech said.

Putting the visual on, everybody then knew just how dire the situation was. The AT fields were Evas, all of them adopted a similar color scheme. Four of them were painted red and gold while the last had purple instead of red.

"Evacuate civilians and non-essential personnel into the shelters. We are in for a fight," Shinji stated as Asuka and Rei arrived.

"Get to your Evas," was the simple order given by Shinji. They then knew that the situation was dire.

Launching into the surface, they saw their enemy, the enemy that knew that the one they wanted was there, but the problem was disposing the others who are with him. They also know that the white Eva would follow the scenario at any cost, but the red one was a wild card, and so the plan was to take it out first.

A RPG shot from the purple and gold Eva started the battle. With that shot, Asuka tried to flank the enemy on the left, while Rei took the right flank. Shinji went and fired at the purple and gold eva.

Asuka was in trouble from the start. The two red and gold evas who intercepted her had cut her cord, and the timer on her back up batteries had three minutes of power left. She also had her left arm ripped off, and her right is practically useless. The two evas was trying to think of a way to put her out of action.

Her timer now showed 1:30, and the two evas are still standing there. With nothing to do but stand there, Asuka pulled her plug release lever. She knew she was beat; with Shinji and Rei busy elsewhere, and no further backup she saw the enviable.

Getting out of her plug, she turned to the sight of the battle of the purple evas, she said with a shaky tone, "Please come back to us, Shinji, all of us. I love you."

Shinji wasn't fairing much better either, but it was mostly chicken scratches. The purple and gold eva was getting the worst end of the beating, but key hits kept him from finishing off the other monster.

Then the worst-case senario happened. The red and gold evas that fought Asuka, was shooting him from a distance, and the other red and gold evas that Rei fought was right behind him, with out a scratch.

Then something that never should have happened, happened, Rei was right beside the purple and gold eva, pointing her rifle at him.

"Come, Shinji," Rei commanded, "time to finish the scenario set forth by SEELE."

Shinji was out numbered, but asked, "Rei, what side are you on anyway?"

"I am on the side of the commander, naturally."

The evas behind Shinji grabbed him, and pinned him to the red cross behind the purple and gold eva.

"Rei, help me. Anyone help me. Mother," Shinji said while the other red and gold eva prepared an eva-sized nail and hammer.

Setting the nail on the wrist of Shinji's eva, the resounding sound of the hammer meeting the nail triggered Shinji's scream.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Statistics:

Stats taken at 5:55 PM (Central Time) on October 29, 2006.

Total Hits: 12899

Total Reviews: 60

Total Content Word Count: 6613

Average hits/Chapter: 1843

Average reviews/Chapter: 8.5

Author's ramblings:

Did I just do what you think I did? Maybe, or maybe not. Do you think I'm that cold hearted? If you read between the lines of the last few chapters, then you will already know some of the answer.


	9. Interlude 2

**Interlude 2: _Dreams are the Open Interpretations of Fear_**

"NOOOOO," Shinji yelled as he bolted from his bed. Taking a few minutes to look around, he notices that he is still in his room at Misato's apartment. He also tried to regain some sense of time.

'Let's see here, I'm still Shinji, pilot of Eva unit 01. My father has been recently put in jail, and so the sub-commander is now the commander. Misato, Ritsuko and Maya is now on maternity leave.'

His breathing evened out as he discovers some added weight around his waist. He should have known it was Misato and Asuka.

'Misato, you were in a shell of a woman when you were really a child. You over indulged in vices and you really didn't care of responsibility. Then I came into your life. You matured and started to act like a woman, no a wife, should, and Kaji didn't care. He just used you for sex and bailed when the heat was too much. His actions when he died were cowardly. I have stayed like a man really should.'

'To "thank" me, you became pregnant with my child. I guess I should consider it an honor, but I haven't been there when you really got hurt, and I'll show you the same love we taught each other. I'll be there for you, just the same as you have for me. I love you, Misato, and I'll never let you go,' Shinji thought as he kissed her forehead.

He then turned to the red head on the other side. 'Asuka, you came to Japan with every intention to get noticed. I noticed you since I first saw you. I was afraid of getting close to you because I would have gotten hurt, and you were more than willing to push me away.'

'Then Misato became pregnant with my child. I knew you was angry because you were not the one to bear it, however, you calmed down and accepted the reasons why.'

'You opened up to me, and we became friends in public. You held my hand as we strolled through the park for our weekly walks with ice cream in the other. You dropped your shields and showed me the real you, and I accepted you. I know that it puts a strain on you, but I would like for you to confess your feelings, if it is for me or for someone else, it doesn't matter.'

'If you never hear another thing I have to say, know this. I love you, and I always will,' Shinji thought as he kissed her head.

He lay back down to the warmth. 'Ritsuko, you know how much hate that my father has for the human race. You saw the abuse he inflicted first hand. He also slept with your mother and made her commit suicide. He committed the worst crimes that any dictator couldn't even think of. He killed our mothers, brainwashed us into servitude, and all the while made us think that we were in total control.'

'But we stood tall, and together, we beat that bastard and SEELE without Eva, causing Third Impact, and most of all making them think that we were still their puppets.'

'You think that you are alone, but you are not. I love you, and never forget that. You may think that you still love that bastard, but he didn't give a damn about it, in fact he took that love and tore you apart with it. Dr. Akagi, open your heart to me and I will heal it, cherish it, and love it.'

He took a look at the clock on the wall; witch read a few minutes before six. 'Maya, Hikari, I know you two are shy, but you have opened your soul to me in a way I have never seen before. You encouraged me to continue piloting, help me see the course that was set before me, and for that, I thank you.'

'After Maya got pregnant, Hikari, you have helped me deal with the situation that I was placed in, and for that, I thank you. I also thank you for coming to me to talk about being pregnant with my child, Hikari, and for that, I love you for it.'

'Maya, I know that you love me, and as the weeks pass by, I'm starting to open up to you, and love you as well. I just hope that you all get along with each other as well when you raise your children together with me.'

Shinji yawned, as he got comfortable in his bed again. Five minutes later he fell asleep, getting the few hours that meant life and death in battle.

One hour later, Asuka and Misato woke. They both kissed him, and set about getting started for the day. Leaving his room, they had one final thought, 'I love you, Shinji.'

Statistics:

Stats taken at 3:03 PM (central) on Tuesday, October 31, 2006.

Total Hits: 14553

Total Reviews: 65

Total Content Word Count: 7423

Average hits/Chapter: 1819.2

Average reviews/Chapter: 8.1

Author's ramblings:

- You now know what direction I was going with the last two chapters. I read an interesting theory on the intent of episodes 25 and 26 and EoE movie (25 and 26 being mental while EoE detailed exactly what happened physically). Now that Shinji is armed with this new knowledge, please stay with me as Shinji decides how to use this new knowledge. A vision of the future perhaps? We'll see.


	10. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: _No Easy Way Out_**

"Rei, You know what is happening," Shinji asked. The blue haired woman in question is always kept in the loop, by either the commander, or in this case, Dr. Akagi.

"The MAGI have detected several MP-EVAs off the coast of Tokyo and is heading this way," Rei replied dead tone, to the fear of Shinji.

"Rei, before we go into NERV, can I ask you something?" Rei's lack of response gave him permission to continue, "Since my father is dead, and SEELE is on the run, are you going to help start Third Impact?"

Rei stopped. He had guessed her battle plans for the upcoming battle. She turned her head to look at the gaze that Shinji was giving her. She quickly closed her eyes and turned away, giving him her answer. "Why," those three little letters that Shinji said formed the hardest question in the world for her to answer, and yet she knew the answer.

"The answer is all around you, Shinji. People not caring, genes going stale, and most of all, it is predicted in the Dead Sea Scrolls."

Shinji took the moment to cut her off, "So there is good in the world, there is no such thing as stale genes, and most of all there is such a thing as false prophets."

That did it; he took away the three pillars that his father drilled into her for the reason why Third Impact must happen. Has the scrolls been proven wrong? Has everything SEELE and Commander Ikari told her been a lie? Is Shinji telling the truth? She busted into tears. Shinji reached over and hugged her. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you are my sister, Rei, and I have to look over you to make sure you are not a dummy." Rei laughed at the small unintential joke that he made. They stayed close for a while getting to know each other better.

A few minutes have passed before they remembered what it was they are supposed to do. "Brother, the only way to destroy those EVAs is to go after their core and destroy it. After we defeat them, then SEELE is powerless to start Third Impact forever."

The siblings flashed each other a smile as they made the trek up to NERV, a smile also crossing the face of an unnoticed observer. 'I'll help too, my husband to be,' she thought before she left to finish what the world started.

The voyage to the plugs was uneventful, but Rei had a burning thought in her head, "Brother?"

The red haired pilot of unit 2 cut her off, "Shinji isn't your brother, Wondergirl."

Shinji decided to answer both questions at the same time, "Rei, Dr. Akagi told me in the experiments that resulted in you. She told me that half of your genes came from my mother, and the other half came from the second angel, Lilith."

Asuka then decided to shut up before she developed a case of foot-in-mouth and got in her entry plug, ready for the fight of her life. Rei walked over to where Shinji is and gave him a small peck on the cheek, "good luck, brother," was all she said before she finished her start up procedures. Shinji was the last to get ready for the fight ahead, and opened a channel to talk to the other pilots.

"Remember to go after the cores of the EVAs. If we do that, then SEELE is finished forever," he said getting the cheers of everyone of the command bridge, except the commander who remained as calm as ever with a small button at his side. "And after this battle, I QUIT," he told the command staff. The other expectant mothers also had their letters of resignation piled up in a pile ready to be given to the commander after the battle.

Soon, the EVAs were launched as the MP-EVAs came closer for the final showdown. Deciding the tactics, Shinji told Rei to flank the left while Asuka took the right while he took on the leader. The enemy sent an EVA to counter Rei and Asuka, leaving Shinji to fight three EVAs by himself.

At last the window of chance was open as the commander pressed the button that would allow the dummy plug system to take over and turned himself over to the MP-EVAs to start Third Impact.

Shinji couldn't believe what was going on as his interface shut down. He feared this was going to happen, as two of the MP-EVAs carried him over to the red cross that was behind the leader, and set him down on it.

The rest of the command staff couldn't believe it either, and they are working to bypass the lock that the commander put on Unit-01 as if humanity depended on it, and it did. The commander had enough as he stood up, and as he stood, Section 2 guards swarmed Terminal Dogma with guns pointed at the rest of the command staff. "What are you people thinking," the commander asked the rest of the crew. No one answered for fear of being shot. The commander wanted an answer, so he shot a random tech.

Dr. Akagi answered, "We are fixing a problem in Unit-01."

"Did I give such order?" That was enough to put fear in God himself if he were here. No response, so another tech was shot.

"No Sir."

"You will not fix Unit-01's problem."

"But, Sir," another tech said, so he was shot.

"Now if Shinji can't fight out of this, then he doesn't deserve to live, and if any of you try to help him, not only will you be shot, but he will die as well."

"How," Misato asked.

"There is a bomb in the lining of the plug suit, one press of the button and boom."

The room was dead as no activity was going on, being held at gun point by an insane commander that is determined to start Third Impact, and Shinji heard every word as the MP-EVAs was trying to position him on the cross to crucify him. He started to cry for help as his external speakers were still on, but Rei and Asuka couldn't help seeing as they were miles away.

Lilly saw what was going on, and projected a strong AT field over Shinji's EVA. "Relax, my husband," she projected into his head, "soon it will be all over," she continued as she put him to sleep. Her mission clear, she synched with the EVA and brought it to its feet. The EVA thrusted its hand into the yellow MP-EVA as it was still trying to get up, and brought out the core and crushed it in its bloody hand. Not bothering to shake the mess off, it dashed off to find the gray MP-EVA and did the same thing, lifting up the EVA, causing it to slide up Unit-01's arm, as the devilish core was crushed. It was then the rest of the MP-EVAs knew that they can't win this fight, and gathered themselves together to fight in a last ditch effort, but Unit-01 anticipated this as it put out the most powerful AT field, and destroyed the MP-EVAs in one fell swoop.

The commander, defeated, dropped the trigger and allowed himself to be arrested, and with that, SEELE was no more, crushed by the very thing that the EVAs were originally designed to fight. Ironic, isn't it.

And as Shinji left his entry plug, everyone that cared for him, his family, embraced him.

**Author's Ramblings and Statistics**:

- I needed that break, and I feel great now that I got my thoughts in order. I do hope that it showed in this chapter.

- I now have a second non-one shot Eva work in progress, check my profile for details.

- And to answer the question already, yes, I did have Robert Tepper's title song playing in the background while I wrote this.

Stats:

Total Hits: 19827

Total Reviews: 75

AVG. Hits/Chapter: 2203

AVG Reviews/Chapter: about 8

Total Content Word Count: 8682


	11. Epilogue

Epilogue: The End of One Road May 15th 2016 

"Do you, Shinji Ikari, take these women to be your lawfully wedded wives," the priest was speaking. Shinji wasn't really paying attention to him, eyes unwavering from the women in front of him. Since the "Battle of the Evas," as history books is calling it, his family has become even closer. The women didn't mind sleeping with Shinji together, and he took the time to get to know them better. Misato had stopped drinking and flaunted her body around the house, and Ritsuko had stopped smoking and her coffie binge. Maya on the other hand, is a different subject all together. Where she was on the outside looking in, she is now as close as ever to the ever-growing family. Hikari has become glued to the little family, and even though she doesn't have a child by Shinji yet, they are still close together at school.

"I do," Shinji replied. Shinji himself has changed since that battle, becoming more confident, and more willing to ask questions. With the conspiracy of SEELE exposed to the world, assassination attempts to the world's savior isn't going to be far fetched, and so constant UN security is always in sight, but he didn't care. In fact, he welcomed it. NERV's security was there to keep him in line and make sure that he went along with the "Dead Sea" scrolls, but the UN's security was there to protect his family first.

"I do," Shinji's brides said together in unison. Security sweeps are frequent, and the cameras are not installed in their bedroom. Even Hikari has some form of UN protection. That made him smile. He also needed to worry about money for the rest of his life, because the UN gave him a massive allowance, and a bought and paid for house.

"You may now kiss the bride," Shinji followed the instructions with emotion as he kissed his brides, starting with Maya and ending with Misato, getting cheers from the hundred people there watching the wedding.

March 23rd, 2024 

"Daddy, where's mommy," a child asked Shinji.

Shinji smiled at his daughter. She was always close to her mother, and quite frankly, so would he if his mother was still alive. "Mommy has to go some where and she will be back in a bit," was the typical answer for the purple-headed child. The phone rang and Shinji picked it up "Yeah. What, what do you mean something happened to her? It was your job to keep her safe, damn it. You should be lucky that you are there and I'm still at the house." Shinji hung up the phone with tears in his eyes. He knew that he would have to tell his daughter something, but he was content with just hugging her.

"Daddy, what's wrong."

"Your mother had an accident, and so she is going to a far away place--" Shinji busted into tears after that, with his daughter joining in, realizing what had happened.

Misato was buried in the family plot in the few days that followed.

December 30th, 2054 

Shinji Ikari is overlooking at four gravestones. The stones belong to the four women that changed Shinji's life, Misato Katasuragi, Ritsuko Akagi, Hikari Hokari and Maya Ibuki. Having touched his life in so many ways, he was temped to build three buildings to remember each of them.

"Shinji," a voice said behind him. He knew who it was, Asuka Langley Soryu. The only girl that he loved, other than Lilly, that ran with her tail between her legs to Germany when the battle ended. He wished that she had a happy life, and to a small extent, she did. Raising three beautiful daughters, she was as content as she could be.

"Asuka," he responded, "what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing. You know that you haven't called me in the last few days, and your son was worried about you."

Shinji knew exactly who she was talking about. The only son of Shinji and Hikari was worried as always about his father, so much like his mother, the worrywart. "He should know that I'm fine, I always was. Still stay the night with me?"

Asuka smiled, "okay. I have to be back in Germany in the next few days, but I think that I could find time for you."

Shinji led her into the house where the pair stayed in bed catching up and sleeping together, not caring what anyone else thought about it.

Asuka woke up the next morning after a night of lovemaking with a still asleep Shinji. Smiling at him, she got up and made breakfast for the pair. Asuka's daughters are due to arrive in Japan today, and she wanted them to meet Shinji. Having finished with preparations, she walked up the stairs to wake Shinji up.

Entering the room that they shared together for the last few days, she walked on to the bed and shook him.

She felt coldness. She then turned the body so that she could see his face, but there was no emotion in his eyes, but a content smile on his face.

Asuka cried, knowing that she just lost her best friend and lover in his sleep, picking up the phone to call the worrywart.

The whole world cried as Shinji Ikari, Slayer of Angels, was buried on his family plot, as the proceedings were televised around the world.

Shinji Ikari spent the rest of eternity with his family, his kids when they joined him, and his descendants, content that he lived his life to the fullest, thankful of his unexpected gifts.

**Author's Ramblings:**

And this is the end of Unexpected Gifts. After I wrote Chapter 8, I was mulling exactly how to end the fic, and I decided to put it off until now. I know that I left plenty of questions unanswered, but I may not write a sequel to address these questions. I may write one shots here or there to address them later.

**Final Fic Statistics:**

Total Hits: 26210

Total Reviews: 79

Total Content Word Count: 9628

Avg Hits/Chapter: 2621

Avg Reviews/Chapter: About 8

This story is on 3 c2s, 27 favorites lists and 44 story alert lists. I thank you for the support!


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